Rex Lorraine Bradley

In Memory of Rex Lorraine Bradley (February 18, 1933, to August 29, 2024)

Rex Lorraine Bradley, treasured father, grandfather, brother, and uncle passed peacefully at 91. Rex's feisty spirit, quirky humor, smooth dance moves, and youthful looks inspired a rich legacy. Fiercely competitive, Rex was shooting his age in golf well into his 70s and would gladly challenge anyone in ping pong, bingo, trivia, and bocce ball.

Rex was born to Raymond John and Mildred (Thompson) Bradley in Columbia Cross Roads, PA. The oldest son of eight siblings, he lived and breathed baseball, leading his Troy High School varsity team to four titles and the District Championship before graduating in 1950.

Rex lettered three years in baseball at Penn State University, where he earned a B.S. in Forestry in 1955 and was a Beta Theta Pi Fraternity member. After spending two years in the U.S. Army, he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates and played in Beaumont, TX for a year.

At the U.S. Forestry Service, he developed an extensive knowledge of timber. In 1958, he was hired by the Hillerich and Bradsby (H&B) Company, maker of Louisville Slugger bats, as a buyer of lumber. He married Louisvillian Margaret Ann Hatfield, on June 17, 1961, at St. Paul United Methodist Church (UMC). The couple eventually settled in suburban Louisville, and later Oldham County, where they raised their daughter, Robin, and son, David.

By 1972, Rex was promoted to vice president of H&B where he signed Major League Baseball (MLB) players to contracts and traveled extensively with his best friend and Hall of Famer, Harold "Pee Wee" Reese for over 26 years. Rex represented Louisville Slugger at MLB Games, Spring Trainings, and All-Star Games where he presented the Silver Slugger Awards. He was a constant presence at the Little League World Series, the College World Series, and the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Rex later worked with professional softball teams, developed H&B's first metal softball bat and first T-ball bat, and contributed to several media outlets, including Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, and the Mike Douglass Show. Admired for his quiet yet strong character, he was also inducted into the Junior College Baseball, the Luzerne County Sports, and the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association Halls of Fame.

Rex always loved golfing at Oldham County Country Club and later Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, GA, after his retirement in 1998. For 25 years, he and Maggie enjoyed socializing with their neighbors and volunteering, especially with Habitat for Humanity.

His children, Robin Bradley Hansel (Scott) and David Christopher Bradley (Patti), and grandchildren, Dylan Scott Hansel and Sophia Nicole Bradley, will deeply miss him. Rex was greeted in heaven by his beautiful wife, Maggie, parents, Raymond and Mildred, big sister Beverly, brothers Dean and Johnny, and beloved grandson, Spencer Davis Bradley.

Specific details of Rex's celebration of life and interment at St. Paul UMC in Louisville, KY will follow. Later, a tribute at his childhood baseball field Homeplate will also occur per his wishes. Instead of flowers, family and friends are encouraged to contribute to the Spencer Bradley Foundation for Mental Health at www.spencerbradleyfoundation.org.

Beggs Funeral Home, Thomson, Georgia is honored to serve the family of Rex Lorraine Bradley.